Mitch Keller Delivers Strong Start In Pirates' Win Over Rays
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The Pittsburgh Pirates' hopes of reaching the playoffs for the first time since 2015 will lean heavily on its starting pitching.
Through two starts, Mitch Keller has looked the part for Pittsburgh in spring training. The veteran right-hander delivered another strong start, pitching three scoreless innings while allowing two hits, one walk and striking out two batters in the Pirates' 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.
Florida heat. pic.twitter.com/5wLVapjxxN
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) February 28, 2025
In Keller's other start this spring, he pitched two scoreless innings and allowed three hits.
Five other pitchers, including closer David Bednar and Colin Holderman, combined to pitch 4 1/3 shutout innings, with the lone runs coming against right-handed pitching prospect Braxton Ashcraft. The Pirates' pitching staff held Tampa Bay to 12 runners left on base, and it batted 1-13 with runners in scoring position.
For Ashcraft, it was his first outing since Aug. 30 due to a forearm injury that landed him on the injured list and cut his 2024 season short. While he may not have gotten the results he wanted, Pirates manager Derek Shelton was pleased with what he saw from the former top-100 prospect.
"He was in the [strike] zone," Shelton said. "He gave up two runs on a ball he jammed a guy with and the guys got to second and third because of a swinging bunt. Overall, he was on the plate and that's the most important thing and I thought the stuff played well."
Cristofer Melendez earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner Falefa went 1-3 with an RBI double that scored second baseman Nick Gonzales. All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds was the lone Pirates player to have a multi-hit game, going 2-3 with a run scored. Outfielder Tommy Pham scored on a wild pitch, and catcher Endy Rodríguez drove in the other Pirates run of the game with a fielder's choice in the fifth inning.
